302: New Dad, New Mission – Garrett Gastil on Family Banking

Banking Will Happen to You, or You Control It (Garrett Gastil) Most people don’t realize they’re “doing banking” every day. They call it car payments, mortgages, credit cards, and lines of credit. Here’s the truth Garrett Gastil shares in this episode: Banking will happen to you, or you’ll be in control of it. Garrett is one of Ascendant Financial’s newest teammates in the United States. He may be early in his practitioner journey, but he is not early in impact. Most importantly, he’s a husband and father who chose to stop outsourcing his financial future. What happened next surprised him. Meet Garrett: Before Infinite Banking, Life Was “Head Down” Garrett’s first exposure to Infinite Banking came about seven years ago, before his first child was born. At the time, he was working in consulting. He was chasing performance, promotions, and status. He wanted to become the youngest partner at his firm. However, the schedule came with a cost. Long days. Late nights. Less time with family. More pressure. More treadmill. Then he did something many driven professionals do: he tried to “solve it” by investing. Like many people, Garrett read Rich Dad Poor Dad and started exploring real estate. He built spreadsheets. He ran projections. He did the math. And what he saw felt discouraging: If he bought one rental, and it cash-flowed a little each month… he might reach financial freedom decades later. That wasn’t freedom. That was a delay. The First Big Shift: “My Money Was Everywhere… Except My System” Garrett and his wife were doing what they were told was “smart.” Maxing out retirement accounts Following conventional planning Saving, investing, staying disciplined Yet the problem was simple: their money was locked away. So when opportunity showed up, the capital wasn’t ready.And when life happened, flexibility was limited. That’s when Garrett’s uncle introduced him to Infinite Banking. Garrett read Becoming Your Own Banker and made a decision fast. He got started with a small policy. Then, as he describes it, something changed once he actually started. “You kind of have to get in the water to really experience this concept.” Why It Felt Different: You Don’t Just Learn It, You Feel It There’s “understanding” a concept intellectually. Then there’s experiencing what it produces in real life. Garrett describes how the process created a tangible sense of control. Because now, financing was no longer something happening to him. It became something he could direct. He and his wife began building their own family banking system. They went all-in. And here’s the key: it didn’t just change money. It changed their options. What It Produced: More Abundance and More Freedom Garre...